Just under a decade ago, Mark Olson issued an album called December’s Child. A rich, homey sounding project, it was the zenith of the singer-songsmith’s work with an indie folk troupe called The Creekdippers.

December’s Child was a fine record, one that seemed to finally remove Olson from the broader – and more commercially visible – music he cut with The Jayhawks, the popular Americana unit he had co-founded but cut ranks with in 1995.

Curiously, one of the album’s highlights was Say You’ll Be Mine, a song he co-penned and co-performed with longtime Jayhawks mate Gary Louris. In other words, while December’s Child underscored Olson’s musical identity outside of the Jayhawks, it also planted seeds for what proved to be an inevitable reunion with the band.

Flash forward to the present. With a critically lauded duet album (2009’s Ready for the Flood) behind them, Olson and Louris are again piloting The Jayhawks and preparing their first record of new material with the band in 16 years. But Olson isn’t about to let his artistic gains as a solo artist fade as his old group takes flight again.

The Jayhawks, it seems, make up only half of his working life these days. Olson is also hitting the road this winter with a couple of his Creekdipper pals to show off music from a 2010 solo album, Many Colored Kite.

Talk to Olson, a veteran of numerous Lexington concert appearances at the Christ the King Oktoberfest, about balancing duties as a solo artist with the responsibilities of a band man and he will tell you the juggling act is sweet indeed.

“It’s incredible, really” said Olson, who performs Tuesday at Natasha’s. “It’s the culmination of a lifetime’s work. I’m playing all the time now in different places, in different countries and in different configurations. It’s gets to be a little exhausting from time to time, but I keep going. I mean, you write all of these songs and you just want a chance to play them in front of people. And I really have that now.”

The thrust of the trio Louris will bring to Natasha’s – a unit that includes longtime Creekdipper multi-instrumentalist Mike Russell – will be the acoustic based story-songs of Many Colored Kite, although the repertoire will also cover songs from Olson’s 2007 solo debut album The Salvation Blues and a few Creekdippers tunes. Such music is a folk-derived deconstruction of the melodic and harmony-heavy ensemble sound favored by The Jayhawks.

“When I started out, I was listening to folky Bob Dylan stuff and artists like Buffy Sainte Marie,” Olson said. “So I’ve always wanted to do material like that, music that was very powerful yet was played with very simple instrumentation. I can just sit there with a guitar for these songs and sing my heart out.”

While Dylan may have been a powerful formative muse for Olson, Many Colored Kite‘s leadoff tune, Little Bird of Freedom, features harmonies by a folk stylist from an altogether different generation – Jolie Holland.

“It was probably 10 years ago that a friend told me about Jolie Holland,” Olson said. “We were introduced and spent a day walking around San Francisco, playing each other what were then new songs. I just remember that a being a very nice day. So when the opportunity came my way, I asked her to sing on this new record.”

The quiet and altogether sunny vibe of Many Colored Kite has to share space in Olson’s professional life, though, with the more electric reckonings of The Jayhawks. The band has already maintained a high performance profile in 2011, having devoted a two-night January engagement in Chicago to complete performances of its cornerstone albums – 1992’s Hollywood Town Hall and 1995’s Tomorrow the Green Grass. Both records were re-released this winter with gobs of extra material. Green Grass, in particular, includes an entire disc of fascinating blueprint-style outtakes called The Mystery Demos.

But Olson sees no conflict between his solo and band callings. It’s his good fortune, he said, that such differing elements of his musical past now seem harmonious.

“They are different projects with different setlists, different instrumentation and different people. But it’s all very exciting.

“These days, my life is a matter is getting up and doing the things I need to do to make sure I’m prepared to go onstage and have a good show. That’s what life is. If you have a good job, you want to do it well. So I’m pretty fortunate that I have all this work, the ability to play music and people willing to come see me perform.”

Research and Markets Adds Report: Prospects in the US Home Healthcare Market.

Health & Beauty Close-Up February 26, 2011 Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “Prospects in the US Home Healthcare Market” report to its offerings.

In a release, Research and Markets noted that report highlights include:

The home health care industry is in its developing stage all over the world, US and Europe leads the market with the support of its developed economy and advancement in technology. US offer great potential for third party service providers and equipment manufacturers to take the benefit of demand and supply gap. In case of services such as practitioners, nurses availability this market offers bright career opportunities. Health insurance for home care is also gaining popularity in the US with rising awareness and low cost treatment.

Demographics changes such as the growing longevity of the patient population are making home the ideal setting for healthcare delivery. The US market for home healthcare equipment was valued at USD – billion in 2010, and is forecast to reach USD – billion in 2012. The market is expected to be driven by governments cost containment efforts, reimbursement reforms and continued advances in device technology. In terms of mobility devices, there is an upward trend in the number of orthopaedic patients which will contribute in the growth for medical furniture and bathroom safety products. go to site american home patient

The report titled Prospects in the US Home Health Care Market describes the industry past performance present analysis and future prospects. It covers home health care expenditures, market size of home healthcare equipment and role of third party service providers. It also discusses industry segments and assess outlook of the industry and its segments. In the industry development section we talked about recent trends and opportunities which contribute in the overall growth of the industry. In the driving forces section we have discussed factors supporting the industry growth. Further, the report highlights the positioning and strategies of top global dental consumables and equipments manufacturers Baxter International Inc., Fresenius Medical Care AG, American Home patient Inc. and Nxstage Medical Inc. Key Findings -Home healthcare expenditures are also expected to show a continuous positive growth trend in coming years and expected to reach USD – billion by 2014 with a CAGR of 5.85 percent from 2010-2014. this web site american home patient

-Globally demand for medical oxygen system has increased in the recent past led by rising number of COPD and asthma patients.

-Home hemodialysis growth has even overshadowed the market growth of dialysis demand. The adoption of home hemodialysis is expected to be more in 2011 & 2012, as more awareness would be created with the entry of more players in the dialysis market.

-The future of dialysis treatment and related device demand is bright with growing rate of patients and awareness level worldwide.

-For 2009, health care expenditures in the United States are estimated to be USD- trillion dollars or approximately 17.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the highest among industrialized countries.

Companies Mentioned:

-Baxter International -Fresenius Medical Care AG -Invacare Corp.

-American Homepatient Inc -NxStage Medical Inc.

Report information:

((Comments on this story may be sent to health@closeupmedia.com))

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MUSINGS ON MUSIC FROM CENTRAL KENTUCKY AND BEYOND

meet walter tunis

I am a native Kentuckian and freelance journalist who has been writing about contemporary music for the Lexington Herald-Leader since 1980. I have not a lick of honest musical talent myself, just a pair of appreciative ears for jazz, folk, blues, bluegrass, Americana, soul, Celtic, Cajun, chamber, worldbeat, nearly every form of rock 'n' roll imaginable and, when pressed, the occasional tango and polka.